Apparatus for planing and corrugating ice



2 Sheets- Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

. v G. A. BIRCH. APPARATUS FOR PLANING AND GORRUGATING ICE. No. 447,000.

Patented Feb. 24,1891.

hventvr:

GEORGE 14. Elke/4,

il ibvwaes: fill/W f $67M lea:

' (No Model.) 2 eeeeeeeeeeee 2.

A. BIRCH. APPARATUS FOR PLANING AND GORRUGATING ICE.

Nu l-47,000. Patented Peb. 24, 1891.

nibble/866$: Inventor: 1

' @W GEORGE ,4. 5/50,

Jtiarny UNIT D STATES PATENT Orricn.

GEORGE A. BIRCH, OF EAST GREENBUSH, NEY YORK.

APPARATUS FOR PLANING AND CORRUGATING ICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 447,000, dated February 24, 1891.

Application filed September 16, 1890. Serial No. 365,121. (No model.)

T0 tZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE A. BIRCH, of East Greenbush, in the county of Rensselaer and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Planing and Corrugating Cakes of Ice Preparatory to Storing, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in apparatus for planing and corrugating cakes of ice simultaneously with the operation of elevating them for storing them in an icehouse; and the object of my invention is to provide a simple and effective apparatus whereby cakes of ice while being elevated into an ice-house can be reduced to a uniform thickness, and at the same time the upper surface of each cake be properly corrugated to afford facilities for thedrainage of the water produced by the melting of the ice. This object I attain by the mechanismillustrated in the accompanying drawings, which are herein referred to and form part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of part of an ice-elevator provided with myinvention. Fig.

2 is a transverse section of Fig. 1 at the line Y Y. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of Fig. 1, taken at the line X X on Fig. 2. Fig. 4: is a perspective view of one end of the cutterhead and part of the guide therefor, showing the mode of connecting said putter-head with the endless chains whereby it is raised and lowered; and Figs. 5,6, and 7 are respectively an enlarged and detached plan view, a front elevation, and an inverted plan view of my cutter.

As represented in the drawings, A designatesthe inclined ice-elevator commonly used for elevating cakes of ice into ice-houses, the endless chains and other portions of the elevating mechanism being omitted therefrom, as they do not form any part of this invention.

B designates the guides for the cutter-head. Said guides are erected on the string-pieces of the elevator A, and are preferably fixed in a perpendicular position to the plane of the string-pieces 0f the latter. Said guides are formed by metallic bars, which are secured to said string-pieces, and each guide is preferably provided with a supporting-brace 1, which extends from the upper end of the guide to the string-piece to which the guide is secured.

O is the cutter-head of my apparatus, and it consists of an angle-bar 2, which is provided at each end with a jaw 3, fitted to slide freely on the corresponding guide B, the lower face of said angle-bar inclined upwardly toward its rearniost edge, so as to form a slight angle to the plane of the elevator A, the degree of inclination to the plane of the elevator being in the ratio of about one to twelve, and it is so arranged for a purpose hereinafter explained.

D designates the cutter by which the planing and corrugating of the cakes of ice are effected. Said cutter is preferably formed by means of a casting of steel having sufficient length to correspond to the width of the space between the string-pieces of the elevator A and of width and thickness sufficient to stand the strain to which it will be subjected in the operation of planing the cakes of ice. The lower face of said cutter is formed into a series of uniform corrugations running in parallel lines from the foremost to the rearmost eilge thereof, and the foremost edge of said cutter is beveled rearwardly and upwardly, so as ,to form cutting-points at for effecting the removal of the excess in thickness of a cake of ice bya positive cutting action. The upper surface of said cutter is preferably left plane for the purpose of the strength thereby afforded; but, when preferred, a cutter of uniform thickness with corresponding corrugations on its upper and lower faces, as fully described in my application, Serial No. 331,19t, now pending in the United States Patent OlfiOO, may be substituted therefor. Said cutter is secured to the lower face of the angle-bar 2, and by reason of the inclination of the latter it will be slightly inclined to the inclined plane of the elevator A in such manner that the after part of the cutter will be slightly raised from the planed surface of the cake of ice, and by this clearance an unnecessary friction with said cake will be avoided.

E designates a shaft journaled in the upper part of the guides B, for the purpose of adjusting the height of the cutter D in relation to the plane of the elevator A. Said shaft is provided near each end with sprocket-wheels 5 and with a hand-wheel 6, the lattor affording the means for imparting a rotatory motion to said shaft when required. A pair of endless chains? forms a connection from the sprocket-wheels 5 to the corresponding ends of the cutter-head 0. Each jaw 3 of the cutter-head C has secured across its open side a cross-bar S, which, by passing through the opening of one of the links of the endless chain on the corresponding side of said eutter-head, connects the latter to said endless chain in such manner that any movement of the latter in either an upward or downward direction will produce a corresponding movement of the cutter-head. The lower bight of each endless chain 7 passes around a sprocket-wheel J, placed on the corresponding side of the apparatus and fitted to loosely rotate on a fixed stud secured in a bracket 10, which is adjustabl y secured to the corresponding, string-piece of the elevator A, said bracket permitting the sprocket-wheel 9 to be de pressed for the purpose of tightening the endless chain 7 when occasion requires.

The elevator A, when equipped with the usual endless chains, cross-bars, and moving mechanism, affords the means for forcibly moving the cakes of ice upwardly on the inclined plane of said elevator, whereon they will be carried into contact with the cutter of my apparatus to effect their reduction to the required size and form.

My invention operates in the following manner: The cutter-head C is adjusted at the required height above the plane of the stringpieces of the elevator A to effect a reduction of the cakes of ice to the required thickness, and it should be understood that the height of said cutter-head in relation to the plane of the elevator may be varied to suit different thicknesses of ice. Then as each cake reaches the point on the elevator Where my apparatus is located it is brought into forcible cont-act with the cutting-points 4: of the cutter D. Said points penetrate the sides of the cake to form the lower angle of each corrugation to be formed on the surface of the cake, and the angular cutting-edges formed by the beveled foremost edge of the cutter and the corrugations on the lower face of the latter eiicct the cutting or planing outof grooves or corrugations in a very positive manner, and each corrugation will be formed with a smooth and unbroken surface in every part thereof.

I am aware that Letters Patent of the United States No. 346,576 have been granted for an apparatus for planing cakes of ice for storing by producinga corrugated upper surface on each; but in that apparatus the cutters are arranged to effect a rupture of the ice at the apex of each ridge between the corrugations,thereby leaving rough intervening surfaces between the grooves, whereby an exceeding number of small points is formed to be affected by the surrounding atmosphere, which by attacking said points will produce a rapid melting of the ice.

My machine does not effect the removal of the surplus ice by rupturing the same from the surface of the cakes, as described in said Letters Patent, said surplus being removed by my machine by a positive planing cut.

I do not claim an apparatus which operates in the manner described in said Letters latout; but

\Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of a cutter-head and a cutter formed of a metallic plate having its foremost edge beveled upwardly and rearwardly, its upper surface being plane and its lower surface provided with a series of parallel corrugations running from its foremost to its rearmost edge, said cutter being secured to the under side of said cutter-head without anything intervening between the cutter and the cake of ice on which it operates, as herein specified.

2. The combination of an ice-elevator, a cutter-head having a perpendicular adjustment on said elevator, and a cutter secured to the lower face of said cutter-head,said cutter being provided with a series of parallel corrugations extending from the foremost to the rearmost edge of its lower face and being arranged in such relation to the plane of said elevator that its rearmost edge will be slightly elevated from a line parallel to the plane of the elevator, as and for the purpose herein specified.

3. The combination of an ice-elevator provided with guides erected perpendicularly thereon, a cutter-head fitted to slide on said guides and having a cutter secured thereto, an operating-shaft provided with sprocket.- wheels, and endless chains carried by said sprocket-wheels and by adjustable sprocket- Wheels fixed to the string-pieces of the iceelevator, said endless chains being connected to said cutter-head, whereby the latter may be adjusted and retained at any desired elevation in respect to the plane of said elevator, as and for the purpose herein specified.

GEORGE A. BIRCH \Vitnesses:

WM. 11. Low, S. 1;. BREWER.

ITO 

